‘Hunger Games’ Defeats ‘Stooges’ to Lead Box Office Again

By Michael White and Allison Bennett -
Apr 16, 2012

“The Hunger Games” led the U.S.
box office for a fourth consecutive weekend, becoming the first
film since 2009’s “Avatar” to accomplish that feat.

The Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (LGF) movie generated $21.1
million in U.S. and Canadian theaters, researcher Hollywood.com
Box-Office said today in an e-mailed statement. That was enough
to hold off “The Three Stooges,” which opened in second place
with $17 million, and the horror film “The Cabin in the
Woods,” third in its debut with $14.7 million.

Released on March 23, “The Hunger Games” has played
during a relatively slow period ahead of the summer movie
season, and has taken in $336.7 million in domestic sales and
about $531 million worldwide. “Avatar,” the biggest grossing
film of all time, was No. 1 for its first seven weekends, while
“Titanic,” released in December 1997, held the top spot for 17
weeks.

“‘Hunger Games’ has a combination of repeat business and
positive word of mouth,” said Paul Sweeney, a media and
Internet analyst for Bloomberg Industries in New Jersey. “This
movie is going to continue to have legs throughout the spring
before Hollywood gets ready for the summer blockbusters.”

“The Hunger Games,” the story of a dystopian society in
which teens are forced to fight to the death in a televised
competition, stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Woody Harrelson. Lions Gate, based in Vancouver and run from Santa
Monica, California, is planning as many as three more films
based on Suzanne Collins’s trilogy of books. The next one,
“Catching Fire,” is scheduled for release in November 2013.

‘Cabin in the Woods’

In “The Three Stooges,” from News Corp.’s Twentieth
Century Fox, Larry, Curly and Moe are drawn into a murder plot
as they try to save their childhood home. The Farrelly brothers,
Bobby and Peter, directed and co-wrote the script. Sean Hayes,
Will Sasso and Chris Diamantopoulos star as the three brothers.

Sweeney called it a “decent” opening.

“Expectations for this film were conservative because it’s
a story and characters that haven’t been in the mainstream for
some time,” he said.

“The Cabin in the Woods,” also from Lions Gate, follows a
group of young adults who find themselves under attack after
gathering for the weekend at an isolated retreat. The film,
directed by Drew Goddard, features Chris Hemsworth, Richard
Jenkins and Bradley Whitford.

‘American Reunion’

James Cameron’s 3-D makeover of “Titanic” was fourth,
with sales of $11.9 million. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as
a struggling artist who woos an upper-class passenger, portrayed
by Kate Winslet, away from her wealthy fiancé as the doomed ship
steams toward an iceberg. The film won 11 Academy Awards,
including the Oscars for best picture, best director and best
visual effects.

The raunchy comedy “American Reunion” fell to fifth from
second with $10.5 million in receipts for Comcast Corp. (CMCSA)’s
Universal Pictures. The movie, the fourth in the “American
Pie” series, follows the misadventures of four buddies who
return to their hometown for a high school reunion. The film
features original cast members Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Alyson Hannigan and Eugene Levy.

Weekend revenue for the top 12 films fell 8.8 percent to
$106.7 million from the year-earlier period, Hollywood.com said.
Year-to-date U.S. box-office sales have risen 19 percent to
$2.98 billion, while attendance is up 22 percent.

The amounts below are based on actual tickets sales for
April 13 to April 15.